Russian troops “deliberately attacked” Italian journalists Claudio Locatelli and Niccolo Celesti in Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson, ANSA, an Italian media outlet, reported, citing a video published by Locatelli on Facebook.
Their car was signposted as press, and the fire came from the east bank of the Dnipro River, where Russian forces are stationed, according to Locatelli.
“The attack against us, considering the place and the dynamics, was intentional,” the reporter said.
Locatelli received a minor injury before the journalists managed to reach a safe place, according to Locatelli.
“If I had opened the door, I would have lost a leg or worse,” he added.
Kherson and surrounding areas have been under regular shelling from Russian artillery and rocket systems since Ukrainian forces liberated the city on Nov. 11.
The International Federation of Journalists reported on Dec. 9 that 12 journalists had been killed in Ukraine while covering Russia’s full-scale invasion, which made it “the most dangerous country for journalists in 2022.”
